As it is generally known, many computer application programs operate at least in part by providing users with access to sorted list data. For example, electronic mail systems (“e-mail”) typically include mailbox structures (e.g. “Inbox”, etc.) containing lists of e-mail messages. In any application having an abundance of list data, there can be a performance degradation when scrolling through a list. One known solution for searching sorted list data is by performing a complex search operation. However, such an approach has significant drawbacks, including slow response time for obtaining search results.
Some existing systems have specifically provided the user with pop-up information consisting of date information for list entries while the user is scrolling through a list. These existing solutions have no capabilities for responding to and/or viewing other type of list entry category information, on which the list may in fact have been sorted. Additionally, such existing systems provide the user with no ability to modify the displayed date information in order to quickly perform any kind of search over the sorted list data.
Other existing systems, (e.g. the Web-based email application Gmail® provided by Google®), have included a pop-up window displaying the name of the author of a next thread in an on-line conversation. These existing systems also fail to provide any other list entry category information, regardless of how the list has been sorted, and include no ability to modify displayed pop-up information in order to quickly perform a search over the listed data.
For the above reasons, it would be desirable to have a new system for providing pop-up information when a user is scrolling through list data using a scroll bar. The new system should display relevant list entry category information beyond list entry dates, and enable a user to modify displayed data to quickly perform a search over the list data.